The main opposition New Patriotic Party has told the Electoral Commission to go ahead and declare the results for Wednesday’s general elections and stop what the party describes as unprecedented delay in announcing the results in Ghana’s electoral history.

Speaking at a press conference, National Youth Organiser of the NPP, Sammi Awuku said: “In the growth of our democratic dispensation, this has been the first time in 16 years that election results have unduly delayed in this manner.”

“It raises suspicion, it creates unnecessary tension across the country; it creates unnecessary discomfort among the youth of Ghana in which we are trying to even help restrain them. This suspicion gives people the cause to suggest that the commission may be attempting to overturn the clearly expressed mandate of the majority of the Ghanaian people and the youth of Ghana through the ballot box.

“This is unfortunate and we are calling on the Electoral Commission to clear all doubt by simply getting on with it. We know what they have received through their fax machines and it corresponds with what the NPP has received. What they gave to us at the polling station is what was also faxed to them so nobody can turn 6 to 9 and can turn our dancing into mourning again,” Mr Awuku said.

He said out of the close to 29,000 polling centres, “currently out of 27,577 representing 94.23% of the pink sheets declared at each polling station and submitted to our collation centres by this morning, our presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo had a commanding lead of 53.79% to John Mahama’s 44.42%.”

“These translate into 5,441,642 votes for the NPP presidential candidate and 4,497,477 for the NDC candidate, a clear difference of 944,165. This ladies and gentlemen is what we call clear nonriggable margin, no numerical gymnastics that will be employed by a South African IT expert or Israeli IT expert can undo the sovereign mandate that the Ghanaian people want to entrust to the care of the NPP.

“Again with only 1,690 pink sheets yet to be recorded from our centre, mostly from marginal polling stations, that’s even if all the votes there are awarded to the incumbent NDC candidate, the provisional result will not be overturned. So we hasten to stress that any attempt to delay the inevitable will needlessly disturb what has been by and large a peaceful and democratic exercise of the will of the people.

“Per our provisional results, it is absolutely clear that the NPP has won a landslide victory, this is apparent from the parliamentary results so far announced. We have at least gained an additional 4 new seats across the country: